Reckless Insanity
by Juellea
Summary: Sasaki Nao has no idea what was going on, with these new memories and names above people's heads. Everything around her just screams fake and she's starting to wonder if she's in a never ending nightmare. With no way out of this current situation, the only choice she has is to "complete the game" and hope she comes out of this with some semblance of sanity left. Gamer fic.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

* * *

Note: The Guide, Stats, Skills will all be in my profile and accessible for anyone who wants to know, so that the story will be able to progress without distractions. This is also because all explanations for functions and calculations would have made every chapter worth 10k of words, and would be extremely confusing and messy. I will indicate – _Document Name_ * _Tab the information is found at_ * _Section of the tab_ – as indicators if you need to refer.

This fanfiction will follow the Last Name – First Name sequence that is common in Japan. It might take some getting used to, but I'd like to be immersed in Japan's traditional culture as much as possible from what I could learn from online.

* * *

10th November, 5 years after the end of 1st Shinobi World War

It has been a few months now, ever since getting these lucid dreams in my sleep. It had started ever since my parents passed away, seemingly replacing what should be there to recover from the grief. Dreams that seemed so real yet impossible.

Dreams of vehicles that are the main mode of transport, some that are even able to transport people at extremely fast speeds through air. All these are impossible here. Vehicles are a luxury that the Snow village guarded jealously; and even so, only the richest can travel in them.

These dreams started with scenes of me growing up as the only child in an upper-middle income family, with two loving parents. Of sitting on the carpet floors of the Library, happily reading various crime or detective novels that I could get my hands on. Of playing role playing games or simulator games during stressful times. The me in these dreams have always liked the fantasy world and deduction theories.

These dreams seemed to proceed in a chronological order, from my early years, as though I had lived it myself, minus the feelings associated with these experiences.

There were dreams of volunteering in various mental health associations during my teenage to adult years; which explained the eventual interest in Psychology. That prompted the 3 months "battle" to convince my parents to allow me to take Psychology alongside with my current Degree in Design Innovation.

I remembered being strangely obsessed with calligraphy and herbal tea, likening it to meditation, where I would be seen resorting to during breaks. Calligraphy would be seen everywhere around the house, and the letters to my parents when I was in college would be written in my self-created calligraphy styles.

Then it got worse. These dreams seemed to have evolved to memories, where I seemed to have recalled memories I never knew I had even in my waking hours.

Like remembering when my parents died in a fire back home when I was still living in the dormitories in college. I picked up meditation and yoga daily as suggested by my favourite lecturer to cope with my grief. Luckily, I didn't need to work part time as I had decent savings along with being in my senior year with college and lodging fees fully paid for.

I remembered eventually settling down working as an Innovation consultant, picking up physiology and nutrition along the way. I eventually decided to take a PsyD in after a year of saving up and contemplation. It was a constant struggle, I continued to work in my company as I still stubbornly refused to touch my inheritance money. My parents would have wanted me to have enough savings for an emergency.

After graduation, I managed to land a job as an assistant lecturer. Honestly, I had no other goals or aspirations aside from these. My life would have been a normal one, if not for the fact that I have never had any friends. I would constantly baffle my parents with my inability to form bonds, the most I could achieve was acquaintances. Being from a traditional asian culture, I did not have a lack of ability to conform and work with my classmates and team. It was more that I could never seem to feel comfortable with any of them and vice versa. I have never felt lonely weirdly, for some reason I found myself enjoying the solitary atmosphere.

It was one day when I was home after a headache-inducing night out with my colleagues, social interactions still being as confusing as ever. I was getting ready to sleep when I felt nauseous, body suddenly feeling weak and cold. Grabbing the covers of my bed, I tried to warm myself up while making a cup of ginger tea when I suddenly rushed to the sink and started puking.

When the heaving stopped, I tried to reach for the tea when the sudden movement made me faint and giddy. I remembered reaching for the chair, blacking out at the next moment.

It was most likely serious food poisoning, but I had no idea how I could be so sure. Without access to such books in the orphanage, I had no way of knowing aside from my "memories".

* * *

It was one day, exactly a month before my 5th birthday when the "memories" have settled down, and it seemed that there isn't any more information coming in, I started seeing "levels" and "name" as well as "positions" on top of the other orphans and caretaker's heads in the orphanage.

People that I never knew; wouldn't have known as due to the end of the 1st Shinobi War five years ago there were still countless of orphans joining, their names, their titles were all apparent to me. It was frightening. The memories were already shaking my belief that my current life is real, things that happened here was considered magic or sorcery in my life. With the added game features to my perception, it was like I was in a warped version of a role-playing game with no way out.

As I began my new-starting-today daily morning yoga and meditation routine, I can feel my nerves calming down as I focused on my breaths. Despite the misgivings in regards to my sanity, the routine from my memories was extremely calming regardless of the frequent stumbling and pain from never stretched before muscles.

Sitting up to end the routine, I opened my palms while breathing out through my mouth. Suddenly a weight landed on my palms shocking me out of my meditation. "Wha…" Right in my hands was a thin A5 sized notebook with the words 'Game Guide' on top. Looking up at the mirror in front of me and confirming that the words hanging on top of my head are still present, I decided to just open it and get some answers myself instead of wasting time wondering.

== To read the guide, please visit profile to view. - _Guide_ –

"This is…" I huffed as I rubbed my eyes with my palms and traced the green leather spine, the same shade as the leaves of the hashirama trees. Deciding to just go along with this "Game" lest I start screaming my head out, I swiftly selected options and chose all visibility, mental sensor and no notifications before grabbing my sensu and falling into familiar steps of the Sasaki Nihon Buyo.

Before the passing of my parents, I have been taught in the Sasaki clan skills as befitting of the heiress. I might be considered an heiress but my family were all that's left of the clan. Father an archivist for the Daimyo, taught me all he could about this land's brush calligraphy and the history and geography of the lands. Mother as one of the main dancers for the Daimyo and head of the clan; as all heads are females, taught me the clan dance Sasaki Nihon Buyo as well as traditional tea ceremony.

My parents frequently travelled with the Daimyo to the various villages for work, leaving me back at the capital with different nannies or baby sitters. They would often make mochi with various designs to entertain me as well as styling my hair.

It was on one such travel a few years after the end of the 1st shinobi war and 3 months earlier where the daimyo was attacked by a group of jounin ranked "Missing-nin" from Kumogakure. Everyone knew Kumo held a grudge, and they couldn't afford to start another war as everyone was still recovering. The daimyo was safe thankfully, but many of the civilians serving were not since the ninjas priority was to protect the Daimyo. Being the only orphan in this event, and the sole heir of a famous performing arts clan, I was given the privilege of being placed in the safest orphanage in the Fire Village, right inside Konoha as well as paid tuition in either the civilian school or academy of my choice.

I was extremely conflicted. Logically, I know it isn't the Daimyo's fault. It's a safety hazard for living in a world filled with two vastly different groups of people, one overpowering the other easily. The Daimyo was especially constantly at risk, and my parents knew what they were getting into. There was a reason why the Sasaki clan is only left with me as the sole heir.

Light and relaxed steps with gentle wave of the arms, gradually increasing to cheerful and excited spins. The Nihon Buyo would easily lift the spirits of all observers. Well, my mother's version would. I still could not stop tensing my shoulders when spinning more than one circle.

Being placed in the Konoha orphanage is honestly a huge privilege. With the scarcity of shinobi, there were not enough to look after the orphans forcing them to limit spaces. Only orphans with connections or history were allowed in. If Konoha could, they would be more willing to bring in as much Orphans as possible. Out of every 10 child 1 would end up being a Shinobi.

Of course, every orphan had to at least give the academy a try. If they were to flunk out they could choose to attend the civilian school, but at least every orphan would have some skills to protect themselves.

I have no idea if I could continue my family trade. I have no willingness whatsoever to perform in close proximity with the Daimyo anymore. I do not hate him, I just did not want to see him ever in my life.

Relax the shoulders and neck, stiff arms and relaxed wrists and fingers. Dainty toes and strong thighs. Cheerful fast paced steps slowly turning strong and swift, emotions getting hyped up and preparing for battle. The dances of this world speaks a lot about the history and progression of the lands. From the cheerful hopes in a new beginning, to the strengthening bonds and friendship in the formation of lands. Then the rifts between the lands formed arriving to the chants of battle. Mother had often spoke of using the steps in this part of the dance to protect herself from other civilians wishing her harm, with the Sasaki sensu's structure usually made from sharp steel found in shurikens.

The dance suddenly changed to lethargy, heavy shoulders and frail feet. Hopeless and aimless movement speaking of the end of war, where friends and families were lost. Slowly and steadily steel returned to the spine, grim postures embracing the finale as resolve grew to carry on their legacy, their wishes, hopes and dreams as well as to protect all that is left.

The Sasaki clan's Nihon Buyo is created with such a vast amount of steps and arcs with transitions in between to ensure that it can be performed back to back without any awkward stops. The members of the clan were often tested for their mastery in the dance through the consistency in strength and emotions portrayed with perfect posture and steps for 3 hours straight.

Once the final step is done, I fell into the standard bow with my hands in front. My current level only allowing for a single dance without any major mistakes. Grabbing a change of clothes, I walked with unhurried steps towards the communal bath to get ready for breakfast.

Ever since entering the orphanage, I have been cooping myself with my own daily routine and thoughts, only responding when spoken to. I have been improving, I believe, finding myself being more aware of what went on around me, what I ate, and what people were chatting amongst themselves about.

* * *

After showering and putting on a light plain green yukata with the clan symbol scattered around on the obi. I smacked my face and tried to put on a smile. "Well, at least this grimace doesn't look as bad as yesterday." Going through the regular motions of pulling my hair in a bun and decorating it with chopsticks with the clan symbol dangling from it and putting on a geta before sliding my sensu into a pocket hidden in my sleeves, I stood in front of the hallway mirror and sighed.

Staring back at me is a young girl with light violet hair and reddish-violet eyes, pale skin and short yet slim stature. Mother often said that clan features will always shine through the females, everyone having violet hair.

The slowly increasing sounds of chatter and screams around broke me from my thoughts and I walked calmly towards the dining room. Bowing in greeting to the Matron, I grabbed a plate before going to one of the tables at the back to eat.

"Nao-chan."

Looking up at the Matron, I noticed that she must have followed me to the back. "You've only been here for 3 months, so you are most likely unaware, but today is the day the Shinobis would be here to talk about the Academy, so you will have to stay here after eating."

Nodding in acknowledgement, I placed my empty plate in one of the empty containers before grabbing a bottle of water and returning to my seat, observing the other orphans as they rushed to grab their meals.

The titles above their heads showed that most of them are from civilian clans, with some heirs here and there. Dealing with merchant, construction, farming and many others that were frequently higher on the risks factor from travelling or occupational hazards. There were others who are from shinobi clans, mostly the sole remaining heir.

Feeling that her thoughts are taking a turn for the worse, Nao decided to explore her gamer functions as she mentally selected the menu button.

= To view stats please go to profile – _Chapter Stats_ * _Prologue - Nao_ * _Aa_ -

Looking at my current stats, status and skills had me wondering why this game seemed to give more benefits to others than the main gamer. It seemed like it's an ability that constantly promotes a selfless mentality. I understood this village's culture, it's rather like my other memories. The priority is not to self, but to everyone. To never be a burden to others, and to help whenever possible. The culture revolves around co-dependence and strength in unity. I agree whole heartedly too, as a bundle of chopsticks is always stronger than one.

This does not change the fact that I am constantly reminded to make friends, to find people I would trust. I'm already not sure if I'm sane, and to make others suffer with my constant presence, it makes one doubt that I'm being selfless here.

* * *

The dining hall hushed as a pair of shinobi walked to the front and addressed all of us.

"As you may know, ever since the 3rd Hokage was appointed, he made a law to ensure that all orphans will be given a chance to attend the Academy. We are here to answer all questions you may have."

With that, the speaker, a blond-haired man with his hair in a ponytail walked to the side near the door. The other Shinobi, a man with a buzz cut and broad shoulders went to the other side of the room and proceeded to stare menacingly at all of us.

Surprisingly, the older kids here who seemed to be familiar with this chose to gravitate towards the menacing man, with the other kids following suit. I looked around confused before deciding to find out more first. The man with a buzz cut was apparently an academy instructor, named Maki Akio with an unknown level. Deciding to go on a hunch, I mentally thought info while looking at him and was pleasantly awarded with text and an outline of a box.

" _Maki Akio is a shinobi of Konohagakure. He seems to be fond of children and takes his job as an Academy Instructor seriously."_

There wasn't much details at all, but given that what was said were things I could easily figure out by observing his interactions with the children around him. I could see hints of a smile as he responded to them gruffly, as though he was trying to put up an uncaring and stern façade. _'Seems like these children know how to read people well too. But why…'_

Turning back to the other man, I noticed that he was the Yamanaka Clan Head, named Yamanaka Inorei. Unknown level again. Upon seeing his description, I gasped and clenched my fist.

" _Yamanaka Inorei is the clan head of the shinobi clan Yamanaka. The Yamanaka clan is known for its skills in intelligence gathering as well as mind reading."_

Now I… no… that did not explain why the other kids did not approach him. Deciding to just ask straight out instead of speculating, and I wanted to see if my mind was playing tricks again.

Gathering my courage, I stopped right in front of the man and went into the default smile when welcoming customers.

"Hello." Yamanaka-sama looked down and smiled gently. "You would need to head over there with your questions though, I'm only here to speak to those who might need counselling from what they might have faced." He gently patted my head before placing his hand on my shoulder, planning to steer me towards Maki-san.

Digging my heels in I continued to stare up at him. "Counselling?" Thoughts ran around in my head with no clear direction. Gradually it slowed down as I focused on only one word. _Mind reading_. I could find my answer now. I probably am insane, letting someone in my head. Either way I'm insane. Definitely.

The matron walked over, apparently signalled whilst I was lost in my thoughts. "Nao-chan, aren't you going over to ask Maki-san questions?"

"Maki-san?" I looked up at her briefly before facing Yamanaka-sama again, repeating the word counselling over and over under my breath.

The matron sighed before facing him and giving a small bow. "Yamanaka-sama, I deeply apologize. She's new here, just in for three months. Kept to herself mostly, seems like she has not gotten over her grief. She's probably trying to ask for counselling…"

With that, Yamanaka-sama loosened his hold on my shoulder and returned to patting my head. I noticed him looking up behind me, most likely to his partner before coming to a decision and gently held my hand. The matron must have briefly went to retrieve my file as she passed him one with my picture pasted on the front page. She cast a worried glance over at me before returning to overseeing the others.

* * *

I felt myself being led to a room with tea already prepared, and waited for him to be seated before settling into a seiza in front of him. I immediately grabbed the pot and served the tea for both of us, as taught for informal situations.

"Sasaki Nao-chan correct?" At my nod, he smiled and continued rifling through the papers. "Standard protocol for all counselling, your matron as your de facto guardian have given her permission for this. Upon entering this room and with the closure of the door, all privacy seals are activated and conversation in here will be recorded only for the Hokage and his chosen personnel's eyes, as well as the both of us."

Smiling gently at me again, he wrote something down in the file before placing his entire focus on me. "Now Nao-chan, as this is the first session, we're just here to understand more before deciding if you need recurring sessions. Try to be as honest as possible and take deep breaths and tell me if you're not comfortable answering. Do your best to not lie okay?"

I nodded again and took a deep breath. "Mind reading." At his look of surprise, I repeated, feeling more determined. It's not because I was convicted of my decision, but It's more that I felt like I was dangling at the end of a cliff, hanging on and feeling my palms sliding.

I did not think this through, it was on total impulse. I understood that this was after the world war, and a shinobi state. I was drilled on the history and culture and knew a bit of the politics.

It was reckless.

I'd probably regret it.

* * *

Nao chose the option to see the titles, names, and levels whenever she focused. Instead of seeing it every single time, which would have been extremely distracting and making her even more confused.

In traditional medicine / herbal, **Ginger** is known for its ability to relieve nausea. It also helps a lot when you're feeling cold. A more accessible alternative to when you're feeling cold is cinnamon, even though it's not as effective when it comes to nausea.

 **Nihon Buyo** is a general term for a type of Japanese Traditional Dance, with more sub types within it. It literally translates to "Japanese Dance". I don't really know much about this sadly.

 **Sensu** is a handheld folding fan used in traditional dances. I wanted the clan to have steel blades as it's spine as a protection for their clan members, especially clan heir, and that every member would be given their own personal fan that symbolizes who they are.

 **Geta** are a little like wooden clogs, which Jiraiya is seen to be wearing. Nao prefers to wear socks with it.

 **Seiza** is a traditional and very formal way of sitting. Now mostly used in traditional arts such as before and after learning traditional dances, or in tea ceremonies.

The traditional Japanese clothes and footwear for females are generally restrictive and doesn't allow for being quick or flexible. They must walk slowly and gently as well as calmly. I wanted to incorporate that into what she has learnt as a clan heir which is deeply entrenched in the grace and poise of the females of traditional culture in entertainment arts, while conflicting with her memories as an independent individual that doesn't see the need to devote her life to make others happy.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga nor do I own any verses of any songs. Everything else that does not fit in these 2 is mine.

The pov might change in every chapter depending on what kind of scenes I'd like to cover for that chapter. For this, it'll be in 3rd person pov.

* * *

"Mind reading."

Yamanaka Inorei flinched, mind racing over how an orphan with no shinobi ties knew about the Yamanaka clan. Orphan, recent death of family. No exposure to shinobi. Father archivist for the Daimyo. There. It's a low possibility, given that he will be a traitor to the land of fire to tell anyone without the appropriate rank about sensitive shinobi clan related information but it's still possible.

Feeling slightly more wary and suspicious of the innocent looking girl in front of him, Inorei smiled again and hummed. "Mind reading you say? To be able to commence with mind reading I'd need to prepare the equipment and receive approval from the Hokage for use on an orphan in counselling. If that's okay with you, we'll head over now to the room."

Nao widened her eyes and slowly nodded again before drinking the last of her tea. Upon seeing that Inorei had finished his too, she shakily placed all of them on the tray before bowing and heading out to the kitchen for the staff to clean. She could feel Inorei following her behind and started regulating her breath. It wouldn't help anyone to have a panic attack right now.

* * *

Nao swiftly went to her room to grab her violet wagasa; no one can say that her clan didn't carry themselves with pride, ignoring the perusal of her room by the man behind her.

Turning around after making sure that she had everything she needed, Nao stood in front of Inorei and waited for him. Inorei gave a light smirk before heading out, easily walking beside her.

Nao was mildly disturbed by this, it was custom for civilians to walk behind people of higher standing, yet by walking beside him with him slightly behind her, it was a sign that he was escorting her. Which was true in a way, but she was not of a higher rank than him. Secretly edging herself to stand a little behind him, she caught a faint hint of amusement at the side of his mouth, but he made no move to walk behind her thankfully.

It was a relatively long walk to their destination. Nao had been to the parks, markets and shops during the weekly field trips but she had never been near the Hokage tower before. Surprisingly, instead of heading towards the looming tower a few buildings away, they entered one non-descript building that looked just like any other that they have walked past.

* * *

The moment the door closed, Nao started exploring the room. It had a head device connected to the walls with a chair below it, as well as another chair facing it. The stretch of wall with the door is filled with one-way mirrors, not unlike the interrogation rooms in the other world. A lone dim light shone from overhead.

With nothing else to do, Nao sat on the chair facing the chair with the head device before deciding to play around with the game functions again.

Surprisingly, her achievements tab had an award of 1 in perception through finding out how to view other people's information, as well as a notice for an increase in 1 in perception through observing people. Deciding to accept it later when she's in a slightly less tense situation, Nao closed all the windows and started looking around again.

She had no idea how long she had to wait here, with Inorei having to wait for approval from the Hokage. Nao started biting her tongue, second thoughts and worries flooding in the more she thought about it.

'What if they decide to detain me in a mental ward? No… there's not enough staff for them to look after crazy civilians. Maybe they'll just let me loose in the village. Or kick me out. Or even worse, they just might kill me.'

A snort rose at the idea of them expending the effort to dig a grave for her. She probably would have to do it herself if she wanted a proper burial. Nao thought that she was getting weirder by the minute, strangely finding hilarity at the ways she could die.

"If I die young… bury me in satin… lay me down on a bed of roses, sink me in the river... at dawn…"

"Why would anyone want such a tedious funeral?" Nao barely restrained her shriek as she covered her mouth with her palms and jumped out of her seat. Standing in front of her was a tall and tanned man with his hair up in a ponytail. He had a gruff exterior and face seemed to be in a constant frown. Not to mention that boneless slouch, it seemed like he wished he was anywhere else but here.

" _Nara Shikaso is the head of the Nara Clan. The Nara clan is known for their strength in tactical and control of shadows."_

Gulping at what she read, Nao noticed the entire room is filled with shadows due to the dim light. Letting out a grimace, Nao took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself before bowing.

Shikaso let out a sigh before waving her bow away, noting with amusement that she appeared to be slightly offended at his rejection of formalities. From what Inorei told him, her clan was big on tradition, it was like their life revolved around it. He suspected that it'll be extremely fun seeing all her reactions the more she interacted with shinobis.

"Inorei told me to keep you company since I'm apparently very free… yawn… he's worried about leaving a girl alone. Though I'm sure that you'll be fine by yourself." Nao leaned stiffly back in her seat as he prodded her to with his feet and proceeded to sit across from her, head butting the head gear away as he inclined backwards like he's preparing to take a nap.

Nao felt like groaning at how lazy he was, it's like he couldn't be bothered to even move his hands. "Okay, not too lazy to place his hands behind his head." She grumbled under her breath at his confident pose. Considering that he most likely work here on a frequent basis, the daunting atmosphere this room gives off is most likely not affecting him at all.

The silence stretched on as Nao squirmed under his half lidded stare, unsure of what to say. Nao was tracing the lavender flower designs of her sensu when Shikaso spoke.

"So what do you know of mind reading?" He casually asked as he slowly adjusted himself into a sitting position. Thankful for a topic to talk about, Nao decided to answer honestly as they would find out soon anyway.

"Nothing really, I just know that the Yamanakas are a clan known for intelligence gathering and mind reading." Shikaso hmmed as he went back to staring at her. It was starting to get intimidating, Nao started feeling like she was getting interrogated.

"How do you think the mind reading will work?" Nao stilled as she thought that through. "I'm… not sure. I guess I was hoping that he could see my memories…" She mumbled as she realized how foolish she seemed to be.

Shikaso nodded as he looked up. The click of the door opening had Nao turn around. Inorei smiled at her as he waved Shikaso away from the chair. Nao was surprised to see that she wasn't the one who had to wear the head gear. Instead, Shikaso adjusted the chair she was on to ensure that she was placed right in front of Inorei and within comfortable grasp.

"Nao-chan, we shall commence with the mind reading now, so all I want you to do is take a few deep breaths and when you feel yourself calming down, give me a nod okay?" With that Inorei gently placed his hands on her forehead, and at her nod a sudden window appeared in front of her.

" _Someone is trying to read your mind. Accept or Decline. Acceptance ensures smooth entry with minimal mental stress. Decline is only successful depending on your strength of willpower against the skill and willpower of the reader. Auto-decline in 5 seconds."_

Nao quickly chose accept and as the window flickered away, she could feel a slight pressure on her head before everything faded to black.

* * *

Inorei sighed as he adjusted the chair the unconscious girl before him was sitting on into an inclined position, ensuring that she's comfortable before leaving the room.

"You know… I was wondering why Nao-chan seemed to act so differently when conversing with me from what you told me of her character."

Inorei sighed again, having seen the interaction behind the one-sided mirror with the Hokage. "She's the kind to become sarcastic and quick witted when under extreme stress."

Shikaso nodded at that before turning to the man beside him when he spoke up.

"Inorei-kun, what are your findings?"

Inorei rubbed his throbbing forehead from the influx of memories that was far too much for a 5 years old girl. Regardless, he had managed to process most of her memories in 3 hours thanks to the newly created device to ease the stress the jutsu often causes.

"Hokage-sama, seems like she's suffering from grief, dissociation, and self-doubt due to unlocking of her kekkai genkai." Both the Hokage and Shikaso turned their focus on the girl behind the glass at that.

"Kekkai genkai? She's from a civilian clan right?" Hiruzen rifled through her file.

"Yes… most likely due to her clan's motivations and belief unifying through the years and finally being strong enough to be reflected through their natural chakra. Resulting in it appearing in her." The data their research department had found from the numerous kekkai genkai had been minimal due to clan protection laws, but they had at least been able to gather insight on the formation of some of it.

"And what were their motivations?" Inorei leaned against the window as he tried to collect his thoughts. He needed to compartmentalize the mess inside later.

"The Sasaki clan is extremely devoted in the pursuit of knowledge to help strengthen everyone they hold dear. They seek out history to understand and empathize with what other people are going through, and decided to use dance as an outlet for their restrained emotions. They learn tea ceremony as it was what put people at ease during the times of the founding of the clan. It's a little different…"

Inorei felt that the thought processes of the clan was quite curious, it was an approach that was so at odds with what they were used to. "They don't believe in getting stronger themselves to protect others, they believe in helping others get stronger to protect themselves. It's like they would only work to improve if it would help others improve." Shikaso snorted at that and smirked. "Seems like it's another lazy clan."

"No one is lazier than yours." Inorei shook his head before deciding to hurry and delve to the main point as Nao should be getting up soon.

"Anyway, seems like this kekkai genkai of hers, is activated through the wielder's most traumatic events like most kekkai genkai. The difference is that while most clans would only activate through harm of themselves, due to her clan's beliefs and motivations, the death of those they hold dear is the trigger. This kekkai genkai, which is so focused on having all knowledge regardless of any consequences it might bring her that it broke the barrier her mind had of memories in her previous life."

The paling of the Nara man before him reflected exactly what he thought when he processed those memories. "I'm not sure how to help her, going through two sets of parents death as well as her own with the mind and mental maturity of a 5 year old, and the life she lived before is so vastly different from here that what we do in our daily lives here are impossible there and vice versa."

He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to go into the most unbelievable information. "The manifestation of her kekkai genkai could be described most like a combination of both dojutsu and space-time manipulation. What she sees from the activation of her kekkai genkai, is what her other life would call a role playing game. Everything from our health and chakra is converted into quantifiable numbers, and information is within grasp to easily improve herself in all aspects of her life."

Inorei was stumped on how to explain further until he looked up and realized that Shikaso had ditched all façade of boredom. It was then when he thought of the perfect example. "It's like every piece on shogi has health and chakra, different functions all easily laid out for you to see. They won't be killed off if the opposing piece is not strong enough to land a fatal blow. And you are able to strengthen each individual piece in strength, defence, attack through various methods and the progress would be apparent to you."

"This… power… how could such a kekkai genkai be possible?" Shikaso's mind was running through the possibilities in this, the power she had was extremely frightening in what it could achieve.

"Not only that, apparently, she has the ability to share her power with anyone in her village that she choose to." Inorei gave a sad smile before looking back at her sleeping form.

"This will now be an S-ranked secret. No one can know this. Not even the council. This have to stay between the four of us until further decisions can be made." Hiruzen intoned as he glared at the two among his most trusted shinobi.

Both of them agreed, slowly getting worried over the girl who was the same age as their sons, and the dangerous life ahead of her.

* * *

 **Wagasa** is an oil-paper umbrella commonly used in the past in certain Asian countries.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

* * *

"Who's the one who fed me alcohol?" Nao grimaced as she rubbed her forehead. Squinting her eyes open, she was thankful for the darkened lights in the room. Hands gently cradled her forehead as she felt a warm tingling. A quick look to her health bar showed that she was being healed, and her headache status effect is gradually diminishing.

When she felt that it was finally safe to fully open her eyes, she was met with a slightly familiar man with a goatee. Blinking confusedly up at his amused face, It was only when she decided to stop digging through her dazed mind and just check his info that she noticed he was the Hokage.

" _Sarutobi Hiruzen is the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha and the Head of the Sarutobi Clan. He is also known as the God of Shinobi."_

Hurriedly sitting up, Nao quickly bowed as much as she is able and stammered out a "Ho-hokage-sama".

Hiruzen patted her shoulder genially before resting back at the chair beside her. It was then when she realized that she was still inside the "interrogation room" and there were more chairs drawn around her inclined lounge chair, both Inorei and Shikaso smirking at her from their seats.

Huffing in embarrassment for being unconscious amongst three clan heads, Nao perked up at the bowl of niku don with onsen tamago, a side bowl of miso soup and a steaming hot pot of green tea in front of her.

"It's lunch time Nao-chan, you need to eat." Inorei answered her silent inquiry as he proceeded to serve himself some tea. Nao murmured a silent "Ittadakimasu" as she slowly ate a meal she never had a chance to touch for at least three months.

It wasn't like she didn't have any money from her parents, the Daimyo had not only paid for her tuition, but also paid for her living expenses up to the day she became an adult. He also helped to transfer all her parents money to the Konoha bank. However; as a minor, she could only access up to a certain amount a month and she haven't had any urge to eat out yet, not like she could just wander around Konoha without adult supervision though. But in a month's time, she could.

As she placed her chopsticks together diagonal on top of her bowl, she cradled her lukewarm tea in her palms as she waited for the verdict.

"Nao-chan, good news first then. You're not insane or crazy or delusional or whatever you thought you were." Inorei quirked an eyebrow to stop her from speaking. "However; you still need to visit me for your counselling sessions once a week. I will pick you up every Saturday morning before breakfast. Your matron will be informed."

Nao nodded as she had an inkling as to why she needed to go for counselling if she wasn't delusional. She had a lot to work through as it is. "So… reincarnation is really a thing?" Inorei rubbed his forehead as he suddenly looked extremely weary. "It's an area that will most likely never conclude, we have not even found the limits of chakra and natural chakra after all."

Nao nodded as she pondered over that thought. It might be better to leave those thoughts to when she retired or something.

"Nao-chan, in regards to your kekkai genkai. I believe you understand the potential it brings?" Nao responded by just selecting her guide book and passed it to the Hokage, only to be met with a new message.

" _The Gamer Guide is only accessible by existing gamers. First invite them to let them read the guide. Passing them the book when they are not gamers will only introduce one of the random romantic stories that you know of. This is a first-time only message."_

Nao snickered as she imagined passing a romance story to the Hokage. She could probably try that if she was feeling suicidal. Inorei grinned as he probably knew what she was thinking at that point.

Coughing to hide her snickers, Nao took in another breath to calm her nerves a little. "Hokage-sama… I need to invite you before I could lend you the gamer guide…" Nao was unsure how the Hokage would respond to that, she knew how paranoid veteran shinobi are, especially one as strong as the Hokage. She could only hope that the game wasn't lying about it's privacy functions.

"Invite me first." Shikaso said as he slouched forward, eyes intent on her. Nao nodded as she stared at him and invited him.

" _Nara Shikaso has accepted. He is automatically placed in the Superior rank. Privacy option is not available to you. He is able to see all details about you until you are of equal rank or higher."_

Nao waited for him to settle down with the messages before passing him the guide book. He just mumbled in thanks before swiftly moving his hands around, hands going limp in a few seconds as he apparently chose the mental mode too.

Nao still could not see any further information about him, but his Intelligence must have been very high as he passed the guide book back after a few minutes of focused reading and nodding towards the other two males in the room before apparently focusing back on the gamer functions.

Suddenly two windows appeared in front of her in close succession.

" _Nara Shikaso has suggested inviting Hiruzen Sarutobi. Accept or Decline." "Nara Shikaso has suggested inviting Yamanaka Inorei. Accept or Decline."_

Deciding to just go ahead as the game obviously intended for her to invite at least the Hokage and any high ranking shinobi due to "unlimited superiors" function, and she was still very much confused about the various shinobi functions. She also proceeded to appoint the Hokage as the main superior.

Going on a hunch, Nao was delighted to realize that she could loan at least two copies of the guide book at once. She spied the Nara clan head emptying his pockets of stuff she couldn't see. When he finally stopped, he had a smirk on his face as he focused on her.

Shikaso placed his hand heavily on her head as he proceeded to ruffle her hair vigorously. "I'll fetch you every week on Thursday evening." With that he waved his hand and dragged his feet out of the room.

Nao gaped up at him as she wondered what she have gotten herself into now.

* * *

Nao groaned as she dug her head in her pillow that night. An hour after Nara-sama left, the Hokage stood up and told her that he will speak to her and pass her back the guide book at a later date, and hoped that she would have an idea what her future plans are by then. He had also informed her that if she ever planned to tell anyone of her abilities, to consult the 3 of them first. As he left, Yamanaka-sama gently helped her off the bed as he brought her back to the orphanage, leaving only after reminding her of their counselling sessions and handing the book back to her.

It was only during dinner when she suddenly had an influx of invitation messages from Nara-sama that swiftly disappeared a second later. Then it returned with a vengeance 15 minutes later. It continued in this pattern until the end of dinner.

Since she could not sleep from the rush of thoughts, she decided to check her achievements and status again.

She gained one in Willpower for the mind reading incident, one in health and luck as well as 100 experience for inviting her first gamer, and another one in luck, charisma and 150 experience for inviting the Hokage.

– _Chapter Stats_ * _Chapter 2 - Nao_ * _Aa_ -

She also noticed that she received a notification for starting her "tutorial" since she have invited her Hokage. Hoping that she didn't have to fight in the tutorial, she decided to meditate and run through what she remembered of yoga zen after placing a long towel on the tatami mat, hoping that she would be able to sleep after.

She probably should invest in a mat and some essential oil as a birthday present.

The next 2 days proceeded in her usual routine, with the day starting off at 6 am with her yoga and meditation routine, then her clan dance before showering and eating breakfast.

Then her lunch proceeded with calligraphy practices and her tea ceremony practise during tea time with one of the helpers in the orphanage as a willing guest.

Then dinner with more influx of 1-second invitations which tested her patience and made her wonder how the Hokage was handling it, and why Nara-sama haven't gotten hospitalized yet with how irritating it was.

* * *

It was on Thursday morning when she woke up, blinking up at her ceiling. She had no urge to do anything at all. Not even meditation. All she could think of was how tired she was, nothing else was on her mind.

She vaguely remembered being called down for breakfast and then lunch, and didn't recall doing much of anything else.

It was until someone started picking her up and carrying her on their back that she realized it was the evening of the day.

"Nara-sama… maybe not today..." Nao said as she mumbled against his shoulder. All he did was jostle her on his back in response as he waved to the matron before walking out of the orphanage. They were walking through the park when he placed her down and made her walk beside him, holding his hand.

"You need a walk." He continued dragging her through the whole park before heading down to the market. "Is there anything you need?" Nao shook her read in response. Shikaso just mumbled something under his breath before pulling them to a stall and buying a small stick of popsicle, shoving it into her hands.

"Do what you want with it, but if you don't eat it, it will melt in your hands."

Nao blinked down at the popsicle in her hands, vaguely noticing that it was lemon flavoured. She was preparing to start eating when someone shot past her and grabbed her stick. A message suddenly appeared right after.

" _Random event. Find out who or what has stolen your popsicle, and get it back."_

"What…" Nao looked up at Shikaso and he quirked his eyebrow in response, before giving an ah, and started moving his eyes around. A few seconds later, he gave a push on her back.

"What are you waiting for, go on. I wonder what reward you will get." Nao started moving forward as she tried to avoid the gentle kicks he was giving her at the back of her heels.

"How did you know what message I received anyway." Nao glared back at him before scanning around her. "Interesting…" he murmured before continuing "I am able to see your tasks and quests by looking at you and thinking quests." Nao just shook her head as she decided to stop wandering and start finding a way to track down the popsicle stealer.

It was then when she realized that the popsicle must be melting, and there should be a trail. The soil and grass around her did not have any wet patches, meaning that there hasn't been rain for at least a day, and the weather was cool and dry during Autumn. It shouldn't be too hard to find.

Looking at the ground around her more, and hoping that Shikaso would at least be keeping an eye on her, she started venturing towards the direction she last saw the person heading for.

"There!" Nao grinned as she started jogging as she followed the trail. The droplets seemed to be rather big, appearing to be held by someone of her height. They led her to a tree a few metres away from the main path, and was just in time to see someone with a huge mane of white hair that seemed vaguely familiar inching the popsicle towards his mouth.

"HEY!" Nao ran and stomped hard on his feet. Sadly he held a tight grip on the popsicle before hiding it behind his back, and sticking out his tongue at her.

The popsicle snatcher was someone who stayed in the orphanage too, but was hardly there other than for meals and sleep. He was one of the orphans of two war veterans, they weren't a part of any clan but were strong enough to ensure that he had a spot. There were rumours about how he has been planning on renting an apartment with his savings, and that his fellow orphan and teammate Orochimaru have already moved out earlier this year. The only reason why she managed to notice him was because he had a rather boisterous laugh.

Jiraiya, despite being only 7 years old had managed to become a level 12 Genin. Nao groaned as she knew she had no way of snatching her popsicle back. What could she do…

"Jiraiya-san, please return me my popsicle." Nao said sternly as she held out her hand for it. "No." She suddenly felt like punching the grin on his face.

"You will be known as the candy snatcher of Konoha." That only managed to urge him to eat the popsicle apparently. "NO!" Latching on his arm Nao decided to change tactics. "What do you want in return for returning me my popsicle?" Nao started pushing down her body weight on his arm when her pulling was apparently not producing any results in stopping him.

"There's nothing you can give me brat." The popsicle continued inching towards his mouth despite her now dangling from his arm. Deciding to regret later, Nao quickly bit down on the half-melted popsicle that was still in his hand before jumping off when she noticed it slacking in shock.

"Urk…" Nao cringed as she felt the brain freeze crawling up from eating it too fast, but was unwilling to get her hands messy if she could help it. Still holding the stick in her mouth, she walked towards the bin at the side, ignoring the gawking boy staring after her.

"He-hey! That was rude!" Nao stuck her tongue out back at the boy when she walked back towards Shikaso, who was grinning at her. "Says the person who thinks it's okay to steal candy."

Bowing good bye to the thief; he was still two years her senior and she could never forget her mother's teachings, Nao followed after Shikaso when he grabbed her hand again.

* * *

Shikaso led her to what appeared to be the Nara clan compound and settled down before the shogi board placed along the porch in front of the main house after grabbing a pot of genmai tea and some dango.

Nao accepted the tea and dessert as she looked around. The clan compound was huge, with houses scattered around wide around the area. She could see a dense forest a distance away behind the main house, which was most likely the famous Nara forest where the deer and herbs were.

Shikaso was apparently waiting for her to finish her dango and tea as he immediately poured her another cup before speaking. "I would like you to try something, could you accept the 1 perspective bonus that you have not claimed?"

"Eh? But my perspective have already hit the cap." Nao opened up her status and achievement window again before squinting up at him.

– _Chapter Stats_ * _Chapter 2 - Nao_ * _Bb_ -

"I'm just trying to test a theory." Nao squirmed as she tried to resist the urge to huff at him, it was like she had been unable to restrain herself from exhibiting impolite behaviour whenever she was around any of the three clan heads lately.

"Why don't you try it then?" Nao decided that maybe the game was telling her that her willpower was too low at the moment, and she had to find ways to gain experience fast before she started digging her own grave.

"My life has been blissfully uneventful." Shikaso have apparently decided to smirk at her until she caved. Sighing and recalling how irritating he has been the past few days, she quickly accepted the perspective bonus, and looked back at Shikaso in amazement when her cap increased along with it.

"…Why… how?!" Nao couldn't resist the wide grin on her face as she proceeded to accept all the other bonuses. The satisfaction she got from seeing her cap level increasing was lifting up her spirits.

– _Chapter Stats_ * _Chapter 2 - Nao_ * _Cc_ -

"The guide of yours was pissing me off with the vague statement inside." Shikaso waved his hand as he took out a book from his pocket. "Now, I have been looking around for something that is F-ranked that you could learn to increase your jutsu learning ability, and this is most likely it. I would recommend holding off your levels until you maxed this out."

Thankfully accepting the gift, she noticed that it was a book on hand signs. Nao bowed in thanks again before cracking open the obviously new book when he pushed down on the cover. "Not today Nao-chan. Keep that in your inventory and I'll be teaching you shogi now."

"Shogi?!" Nao felt a dread forming in the bottom of her stomach. She didn't even have the patience for go or chess in her other life.

* * *

 **Genmai tea** is tea made from Green tea and brown rice.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

* * *

"Do I really…?" Nao cringed when Shikaso shot her a glare and gestured her to prepare the board. Sighing in trepidation she tried to dig through what she could recall of the game and carefully placed the pieces down. The placement of the pieces wasn't hard, the only tricky one was the places of Bishop and Rook. With the Bishop on top of the Knight at the left and Rook on top of the right Knight.

No, the problem was to remember the changes in skills when they are promoted once they reach the 3 rows where the opponent's base lies. That and trying to survive more than 5 seconds against a clan head of a clan specializing in tactics.

He grilled her on the powers of each pieces and their promotion powers, randomly calling out with no sequence with pauses in between for her to arrange the board again. Once the review was done, Nao played a round with him, where he obviously played down his skills as she managed to last fifteen minutes. The game sadly ended with a "you're even lazier than my clan!" scolding from him.

Nao sighed as she tidied up her side of the board. She had a habit of always picking the most obvious route of choice in chess games. It was the easiest and fuss-free option.

* * *

Bowing in greeting to the wife of the head of the clan, Nara Fumiko and the Nara heir, Nara Shikaku who was apparently the same age as her; Nao sat down in seiza opposite Shikaku and beside Fumiko. Fumiko appeared to be very strict when it comes to propriety of females, which Nao could see from her stiff back, perfect seiza and total silence. Nao would have laughed when she saw the stark difference between genders; given the slouch in the backs of the males and their elbows on the table; if she didn't find herself under intense scrutiny the entire duration of dinner, with only words spoken between the two males. Apparently, she had passed the etiquette test when she was given a nod from Fumiko, Nao wondered what would happen if she failed it. Maybe a denial to be seen in the compound?

"Nao-chan."

Resisting the urge to jerk, Nao raised her head up slowly and spoke softly with a practised smile on her face. "Hai, Fumiko-sama?" Nao made sure that she focused her eyes on the nose of the graceful woman before her.

"Shujin mentioned that he would be training you in shogi once a week." Nao suddenly felt a faint prickling at the back of her eyes. The conversation she was having now was reminiscent of how she conversed with her mother during the day when she was grilled on manners.

"Hai Fumiko-sama."

"I heard that you are from the Sasaki clan." Nao could feel her smile becoming frozen as she confirmed, becoming stiff from the constant smiling. She was never good at the expressions aspect, and quite obviously needed more training.

"Would you be willing to train our son in calligraphy? I will be willing to oversee your training in tea ceremony in return." Bowing in acceptance automatically, it was only a few minutes later when Nao processed what was asked and barely controlled her surprise. Shikaku-san seemed to be shooting her a baleful glare from the corner of his eyes as he rested his chin on his palm.

* * *

It was apparently a very fruitful visit to the Nara compound, where she managed to gain 2 levels in Shogi skill and with the book the Nara head gave her; and constant non-stop training whenever she could, she managed to gain 2 points in Learning Ability (Jutsu) when Saturday arrived.

– _Chapter Stats_ * _Chapter 3 - Nao_ * _Aa_ -

Pouting up at her status screen, she was only 1 point away from capping all her stats for her current level, but it seemed like she could gain no more point in jutsu learning ability just from practising the hand signs.

A sudden vibration started at her ear, giving her a shock before she looked at her calendar and saw that Inorei was supposed to pick her up. With no time to waste, Nao hurriedly picked up the clothes she placed on the bed an hour and a half ago when she went through her daily training.

She hated to make people wait for her, so she just ended up wearing a simple training hakama she obtained from the donation boxes and tied her hair into two low hanging loose buns.

* * *

"So you miss the people who have been looking after you in the capital?"

"Yes…" Nao nodded as she looked down at the warm tea in her hands, daifuku placed beside her untouched.

"Would you wish to see them?" Inorei was extremely gentle like always, but at the same time extremely irritating like some cognitive-behavioural therapy she had encountered. Refusing to judge, to give a direction. Instead reconfirming and asking questions to aid in finding out the answers herself.

Sometimes Nao wondered if he saw the memories she had of her lessons in psychology, and that he was using her as a guinea pig to test the effects out. It wouldn't surprise her if he did. She supposed she could stop him if it bothered her, he did say she could after all. She just hoped that they had a voice recorder here though, having to wait for him to write it down despite his fast reflexes was extremely irritating.

Sighing again, Nao decided to just ask. She was distracted right now, and continuing in this vein would not help much. "Isn't there a device to record voices?"

Inorei smiled apologetically at her before placing his scroll and brush down. "Our electronic advancements aren't as fast as your past life." Nao flinched at that, they haven't breached the topic of her past life yet. "Probably due to chakra being possible in here, there have been no need. With the constant risk in safety, electronics as a non-necessity have not been a priority in this world. Our only way to communicate is through scrolls or messages sent by people, career pigeons or summons after all."

Nao rested her chin on the table as she pondered over that, the atmosphere calming and relaxed enough for her to ignore manners in a counselling setting. "But isn't it dangerous to travel across lands, and the messages might be lost after a while right?"

"Yes it is, but it is a risk that we must take." Groaning as her head started to ache. It was something that happened frequently in her past life, where she would not be able to stop thinking about the problem until she created a solution, which she obviously do not have the tools to create at her wonderful age of 5.

"Do you know of any avenues available that I could go into to create a solution for this?" Inorei hummed as he pondered. "Creating a jutsu would be possible, however to use it would be dependent on the person's chakra volume, chakra control and proficiency. Another would be fuuinjutsu, which would negate the need for control and skill if the seal is created for mass production. Much like the storage seals."

"Fuuinjutsu?" Nao perked at that. She had only heard of this skill in passing in the orphanage, where the wife of the first Hokage, Uzumaki Mito was known to be the only Fuuinjutsu master. She had not been able to find out more about the Uzumaki clan, other than the spiral logo on the chuunin jackets being the clan symbol.

"Yes, primarily using paper and calligraphy, with chakra imbued in the ink. To actually create the seals however, you would need to learn under Mito-sama." Inorei grinned, seeing the glint in the eye of the girl in front of him with immense potential. She had a gift that Konoha was extremely thankful to have, and had already helped a lot.

The Nara head had managed to clean up spies in the shinobi ranks, just from the nifty rule that did not allow anyone from another village to be added as a gamer. It probably did nothing to spot the sleeper agents, but still managed to help a lot. Shikaso also found out a frightening aspect of the ability she had, by pure chance when she had an episode of depression. What might have persisted for days seemed to recover from the activation of the random event. The game is able to neutralize the emotional state of the gamer whenever an "event / quest / task" starts, which ensures that the gamer would have a fair chance in succeeding. Any emotional states gained after it starts will not be neutralized.

The information option had helped in the missions both Shikaso and Inorei went to, as their perception was high enough to identify their main combat position, offense and element as well as weaknesses. They were able to create much better strategies, as well as gain insights on other villages bloodlines, jutsus, and skills that they had otherwise no chance of getting without capturing them, not to mention the identities of the other villages jinchuuriki.

They could also bring more items due to the stasis charm and pocket dimension for the items in inventory such as actual _hot food_ , _hot water and hot tea_ and equipment that apparently _boosted their stats_ when equipped; gained from rewards in the quests or tasks they received, which would otherwise be impractical for missions. The idea that this power could produce money and items out of thin air was disturbing and would no doubt bring a lot of problems to the civilian clans, not that any of them were willing to share their new found income source. Not to mention finding out that certain combinations of herbal tea helped to regenerate health and chakra as well as certain status ailments, which they had no idea of even with both of their clans extensive research on herbs.

It had also helped the Hokage in spotting the fake mission requests by customers wanting to save money, inadvertently getting better deals and lowering the rate of casualties. Apparently the Hokage's perception is high enough to even identify their current emotions as well as hidden emotions. Inorei's focus right now was to get the perception stat as high as possible, this would help immensely in interrogation.

Which was the reason why the both of them had more time to spend with their children and are more than happy to help Nao with increasing her skills and stats. There was only so much they could help though, there were already quite a few unsavoury people enquiring about her. Even if she would be able to venture around when she turned six, Inorei made a point to introduce more people to her lives so that she would have people to keep an eye on her at all times.

Starting with Mito-sama.

* * *

Nao looked up at the formidable woman in front of her. The way Mito-sama held herself, towering over her with a stern countenance made her gulp. She gripped her hands to stop the tremors forming when a oppressive weight seemed to settle on her shoulders, slowly tightening around her. She tried to regulate her breaths as she felt a pressure around her throat.

' _I decided this, I decided to be a ninja, I decided to learn fuuinjutsu. If I can't handle this apparent test from Mito-sama, I won't get anywhere.'_

A few days after her first counselling session with Inorei, she was brought to a tea shop near one of the abandoned buildings to meet with the Hokage, where he asked her what her future plans were. When she informed him that she had plans to be a shinobi as she needed to be able to protect herself and the fire village, he informed her that he would put her in the roster the moment she hit the cap for pre-academy, most likely when she turned 6 if she was lucky, her current slow progress not a reassuring sight.

He had also informed her that due to the potential of her power, and for her own safety, that she not speak to anyone about her gamer skill. If she planned on inviting anyone, that she approach him with the person in mind first. He had also informed her that she was welcome to visit him whenever he's free.

Nao's sessions with the Nara clan usually started with a gruelling session of tea ceremony, with focus on expressions which apparently, Fumiko excelled at. It later proceeded to tutoring Shikaku on calligraphy. He apparently really disliked her a lot for some reason, glaring whenever she greeted him and ignoring her whenever his parents were not around. The game made it even worse by making it a weekly quest, which she failed 6 out of 8 times within the last 2 months, but luckily still increased her experience by 50 for a failure, and 100 for a success along with 50 ryo.

During the shogi sessions, which happened last, Shikaso decided to pair both Shikaku and her up, which he happily slaughtered her in 5 minutes before disappearing every single time. Her progress in Shogi was dismal due to that. Not that she was upset though, she didn't want to be around him anymore than necessary anyway.

In her sessions with Inorei; which she realized he had slipped in a bit of his interrogation techniques at the end of each counselling session if her steady increase in that stat was any indication, she had expressed her frustration with her stagnant jutsu learning ability when he suggested starting on manipulating her chakra.

Apparently, it's something most shinobi clan children started at a young age along with physical conditioning to ease their way into using chakra and controlling it. It requires meditation first to focus and be rid of all distractions, then feeling the chakra inside; slowly guiding it around the body. The easier it is, the easier using jutsu and controlling chakra would be. With the new skill formation in the status page, Nao was glad that she wouldn't be stuck in a level for too long.

– _Chapter Stats_ * _Chapter 3 - Nao_ * _Bb_ -

The pressure slowly lessened when Nao felt a lack of air, and with relief she took in a huge gulp.

"Now, Sasaki Nao-chan. What will I gain from taking you in as a fuuinjutsu disciple?" Nao felt her chin being tilted upwards by the sensu in Mito's hand, forcing her to look up into her eyes.

Looking into another's eyes, is seen to be an indication of someone's honesty and confidence level in her previous life, preferred when interacting with others. In this life, it's an indication of confidence and determination, as well as direct confrontation. Seen as insolent behaviour when between people of different status. Honesty is never a virtue in the culture here, it's a self-serving lifestyle, which takes years of indoctrination from the system to cultivate village loyalty in the shinobi ranks. With it brings a certain level of vulnerability that Nao wanted to ignore. Her eyes were far too expressive and honest.

"What more do you need aside from my continued presence." Nao murmured under her breath as she tried to calm her racing heart. She would have missed the snort coming from the Hokage if she hadn't managed to duck the first sensu attack that aimed for her head.

"Again." Nao grimaced as she rubbed her forehead, commenting under her breath about the misuse of sensu from its prestigious purpose, which earned her a threatening wave of the lady's hand before her.

Glancing up at the Hokage sitting at his table behind Mito-sama, Nao nodded back when he gave his approval, realizing that this was his intended purpose when he activated the privacy seal and chased the anbu away when Mito-sama entered.

"I have a kekkai genkai, that can be shared with others, and will definitely be beneficial for you." With her hands placed in front of her lap gently, in a calm and composed posture, she hoped that she would be able to convince her to take her in.

"This kekkai genkai of yours; which we will discuss if I agree, and given with Hiruzen's endorsement, I will give you a grain of trust. However, I am currently training Tsunade-chan and helping her teammates in fuuinjutsu. Why do you think I should give more of my time into teaching you?"

'This feels even harder than a job interview in my previous life!' Nao seriously felt like crying. "I am currently looking to create solutions to some of the problems shinobis face, and would like to be given the chance to learn to utilize the shinobi art of fuuinjutsu that is extremely difficult to learn without a proper master. I am hoping that with continued study in this art, I would be able to help as many of the Konoha shinobi and civilians and the Fire country's residents as possible. I am resolute in my choice and will persist on this path regardless of your decision."

Nao secretly crossed her fingers behind her, hoping that she understood enough of the shinobi culture to get an answer that would appeal to her. Not that her response was a lie, but she knew the phrasing of her words would make or break her chances.

An open and cheerful laugh sounded through the room when Mito-sama grinned and her posture loosened, her hands leaning on her hip. "Alright brat, you can be my disciple. You better be prepared for it as Uzumaki fuuinjutsu is going to be the hardest shinobi art you've ever learned!" The change in countenance was startling, and Nao could only gape up at her.

Quickly snapping her mouth shut before Mito-shishou's sensu could do it for her, Nao hurriedly invited her and placing her as her shishou; hands preparing the guide book when the Hokage started reassuring the Uzumaki that she wasn't in a genjutsu.

"I'll pick you up whenever brat, so make sure you are ready at all times. You might have only asked for fuuinjutsu training, but I don't take in weaklings. My disciple will not be weak in any area!" With the guide book stored inside her pocket, Mito-shishou seemed to have transformed again when she opened the door, looking as prim and proper as anyone would expect of the Senju matriarch.

* * *

Thus begun the gruelling exercises in calligraphy and fuuinjutsu theory, as apparently Nao couldn't learn even the simplest of fuuinjutsu due to her lack of maxed advanced calligraphy.

Right after the stiff and stressful atmosphere of the tea ceremony, Nao started feeling extremely frustrated and irritated. The Nara heir had escalated his signs of dislike towards her, and had started throwing the ink pots and brushes away.

"Will you stop that!" Banging her palms down on the table, Nao glared straight at the shocked boy in front of her. She could hear the door behind her opening but she was far too angry to stop.

"If you hated me so much, you could always choose not to learn from me and stop wasting your damn time!" Her eyes were prickling, and she could feel something wet on her cheeks. The tears couldn't seem to stop, blurring her vision yet she couldn't stop her hands from trembling.

With that, her anger evaporated and instead brought self-loathing. Despite her physical age, she had lived another life. Had lived up to 32, and was even older than his parents. And here she was, losing her temper on a 5 year old's tantrum. How low can she get?

Shikaku apparently had enough of her too, as she could see his silhouette standing up and leaving the room at the fastest speed she had ever seen him move in.

* * *

 **Shujin / Goshujin** means husband or lord of the house. **Teishu** could also be used in this context but I would separate it here just in case I needed to describe an example of a tea ceremony as it also means "host".


	5. Chapter 4a (Shikaku POV)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

Really apologize for the long wait, recent changes in my personal life does not allow me to write as often as I'd wish to. Regardless, I still plan on writing whenever I can and will update when it's done.

This is a very short chapter as it is a Part (a) of Chapter 4, and Part (b) will be uploaded at a later date, which will be significantly longer than this.

* * *

 **Shikaku's POV**

Shikaku groaned as he tried to ignore another disappointed frown from his mother. He wished that they would just leave him be, he was only five for goodness sake. Yes, he's not above using his age to his advantage, it was clearly a miscalculation and he suffered badly for his failure.

Not one to lie to himself, he must admit that he had let his emotions drive his motivations and some of his decisions. Which obviously caused such a catastrophe to occur, and horrible days ahead as it's consequence.

During the day of her first visit to the Nara compound, Shikaku had woken up from his nap to find that his father was no longer there. It was an enjoyable few days where his father seemed to finally have the time to accompany him for their daily activities. Thinking that he was called back to work, Shikaku then went back to napping grumpily.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy time with his mother, but there was a distance felt in his interactions with her as she was constantly concerned over proper etiquette, not willing to let loose even in front of her own son. It was rather stuffy.

When he found out during dinner that the time that his father could have spent with him was with this girl that appeared out of the blue, he was pissed. It felt like someone was snatching his father away from him, and that he had to spend even more time with her was raking on his nerves. He had no idea what his mother was thinking, he had no wish to spend more of his precious time that he could have better spent with his dad, on learning calligraphy with her.

He didn't want to call it off, even though his father did not comment on the lessons proposed by his mother, it was obvious that he approved. He didn't want to disappoint his parents by not even trying, he wanted to make _her_ be the one who made them disappointed.

* * *

It was to his surprise when she appeared so far removed from the usual triggers that got the females angry; that he observed throughout his admittedly short life. She did react, he could see it in the twitch of her eyes and her facial expressions. Her huge tolerance of his nuisance was noted, her patience was amazing but that wasn't what made him extremely confused.

She seemed to be brought up in a different set of social and cultural rules.

He called her a lady, she seemed to be oddly surprised by his "praise". Someone who was training to be a shinobi usually saw it as an insult. As with dainty, small, thin, and any other not-too offensive terms he could think of. His slouch on the table only seemed to amuse her, when this posture should have offended even the most lenient of civilian females. His ignoring of what she said was seen as the highest insult of someone of her stature, an heir of equal standing as him, but she apparently thought it normal.

What started as a petty vengeance scheme seemed to have evolved into a mission for answers. Answers to this huge puzzle this girl has become a priority to satisfy the growing curiosity that seemed to dwell in the minds of all Naras. It occurred to him then that this was probably why his dad deemed it worth his time to spend with her. Such a vastly interesting riddle was impossible to ignore after all, even he couldn't resist.

* * *

Especially her shogi moves. It just didn't make sense. The shogi they played was strongly influenced by shinobi tactics, and it probably was because she wasn't trained as one, being from a civilian clan. Even so, her moves showed no understanding of the usual strategies of the shinobi lands. It was so new, so different, yet amazingly workable. He still managed to win her, of course; but it was interesting enough that he needed to recreate the moves in his own room to understand the intention of it.

She was an enigma.

He wanted to crack this puzzle that was Nao.

Then he forgot that she was _human_.

He messed up, he messed up badly. He pushed too hard, and too fast. Probably lost his chances of cracking her once and for all.

He really didn't want to admit this though.

Didn't want to stop.

Now it was a matter of which was more important to him, his little _pride_ or his _curiosity_.

* * *

"If you're only here to apologize because you were guilt tripped to, don't bother."

Shikaku sighed back in his room, cursing his lack of determination and courage.

He had finally gotten some of it earlier that day. _Apparently not enough._ Approached their usual spot for calligraphy on the table; which he realized that she still sat and waited for him for the whole duration during the last few days even if he never joined, then said that bitingly with her back still turned away. Like most males in the face of a livid woman, he tucked his tail between his legs and ran away.

The humiliation set in 5 minutes later.

He wondered if there was a jutsu to remove memories.

* * *

Nao's pov will appear in 4b


	6. Chapter 4b

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

* * *

Staring down at the empty paper in front of her, Nao sighed before proceeding to grind down the inksticks and mixing it with water. Looking back at the closed door, she figured that Shikaku was not going to appear again today. Deciding to just start with training her calligraphy skills, she proceeded to write the poems that she remembered from her mother.

She half hoped that he would pretend nothing happened and just went back to how they normally were, him slouching in his seat and half-heartedly listening to her while she tried to get his attention and his hands to finally pick up his brush.

That was far better than this absence, and the apparent tension that didn't want to leave.

She knew that it would not help anything though, he needed to understand where he did wrong and know to put in more effort next time. It would be plenty awkward when he decided to make his move.

* * *

"Would you like to play with us?"

Nao gazed at the pair of girls in front of her in shock. It was the first time someone from the orphanage approached her; sadly Shikaso was due to come in a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, but I have an appointment soon with Nara-sama." Nao bowed as she smiled apologetically at her.

"So you think that we're not important enough for you?"

"What…" Nao was speechless as she looked back at the girls in shock, the other orphans seemingly attracted to the current issue as she noticed some of them looking at the three of them.

The girl with her hazelnut hair in a high ponytail huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. "I have never seen you associate with anyone other than the matron, helpers and heads of the Shinobi clans, you must think that we're beneath you."

The girl's lips pursed as Nao could see her face turning red. "Well need we remind you that you're just like us! Those shinobi clans will ditch you the moment your worth is gone, and when that happens, don't come running to us."

The girl beside her with her black hair in a curly bob patted her hand on the hazelnut hair girl's shoulder to calm her down, before speaking up. "Kaede-chan who just turned 13 and left the orphanage last month was like that too, when her genjutsu skills were good enough that the Kurama clan approached her to train one of their members, then when the member caught up, they just abandoned her and since she never bothered to make other friends, she had no one to hang around with anymore."

Both walked away when a pair of footsteps could be heard. The black haired girl suddenly stopped and turned towards her. "Us orphans have no family, no relatives, no one there willing to support us, other than ourselves. We only have each other. Which is why we're all a tight knit group, like a huge family. As your elder sister in this family we would not want you to be used then abandoned by the influential clans in Konoha. It's either that you make sure that you continue to be of use, or leave before they abandon you."

A weight rested on her shoulders when they left, and Nao looked up to see the neutral face of the Nara clan head. Informing her in an indirect way that he heard everything and was not going to say anything about it.

She followed him to their daily training sessions in the Nara compound, for once feeling uncertain and honestly extremely scared.

* * *

"It's best that we postpone the tea ceremony to another day when you're more emotionally up to it."

Nao nodded as she excused herself, moving to the room where she practised her calligraphy by herself for the past week. She couldn't smile at them now, with the doubt creeping up inside her.

Without her knowing it, she had come to trust the Nara and Yamanaka clan heads as well as the Hokage from her frequent visits and the help she got from them. They had grown on her, like a friendly uncle that she visited regularly. She had no idea when it started, probably when she realized that she was alone.

Her "supposed" guardian upon the passing of her parents was the Daimyo per the fire country laws. He passed her over to the Konoha orphanage within a day of his return. The matron and helpers kept a professional distance, never being close to anyone, most likely to prevent favouritism.

The only ones who genuinely appeared to care was them.

And it was most likely because of her kekkai genkai.

She wondered if that was why the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan were always aloof to anyone not in the same clan, a shield created to protect themselves from the sting of betrayal.

' _I'm scared.'_

The slide of the opening door had her freeze. She could heart the light shuffling of his feet.

Gritting her teeth to shove down the bile in her throat as nausea kicked in, she squinted her eyes and bit out. "If you're only here to apologize because you were guilt tripped to, don't bother."

' _Mito-shishou isn't here._ '

' _I'm scared.'_

* * *

She could see the worried glances all three of them shot her whenever she went for her weekly visits. Yamanaka for his counselling, Nara for the shogi and tea ceremony, and short visits with the Hokage to update him on her current progress and to chat.

She would like to say that she was a strong individual that would not be swayed in her beliefs by outside influences, but that would be a huge lie. The trust they had from the beginning wasn't even that strong, and the possibility of betrayal was felt by all. The close bonds and amiable conversations they had from the start to the end was just a façade and appeared to be more of a relationship bond for mutual benefits, not because they genuinely liked to be around each other.

Mito-shishou still hasn't returned from her trip to Uzushiogakure.

Can she really trust her either?

\- _Chapter Stats * Chapter 4b – Nao * Aa_ -

* * *

The door behind her slid opened again, and a pair of shuffling feet hurried over to stop right behind her. Nao could hear a soft sigh and even more shuffling feet as it stopped at the opposite side of the table, in front of her.

She was met with tied up bundle of black hair sticking up, where apparently, the Nara heir decided to bow in apology before speaking up first. Nao hurried off her feet and bowed back, she was a guest in this house and he is the apparent superior over her. There was an awkward silence that followed when both returned to a standing position.

Shikaku slouched even further and mumbled under his breath. Nao was far too restless and frustrated with her recent thoughts to find amusement in such a common gesture, she was having difficulty keeping calm lately.

"I'm sorry Nao-san. For not taking the lessons seriously and throwing tantrums. I hope that you would be willing to continue teaching me Calligraphy, and I'm willing to continue to help with your shogi too." Shikaku seemed to squirm as he said those words, staring hesitantly into Nao's eyes.

Nao gave a strained smile in return and nodded. "Apology accepted Shikaku-san, I am sorry too for losing my temper on you, and would like the chance to continue our previous arrangement."

Shikaku nodded in reply and muttered an accepted before sliding into the seat, expression troubled and unsure.

Nao knew why, and couldn't help it.

He didn't seem sincere when he spoke the words, it was more that he thought this was what he should say, the best answer in this situation. It felt constantly rehearsed, and the thought that he spent time thinking and planning this out should probably lessen the hurt.

It probably was a day too late though. Or the right day depending on how you see it.

He was most likely innocent in this, not having any idea of her powers yet still willing to associate with her. The benefits each of them got from this association was clear from the start too.

It was just to help each other with shogi and calligraphy, and nothing else.

A barrier has already been formed, and she was not letting anyone in.

* * *

As some of you have probably noticed, this is going to be a relatively slow fic. I have roughly planned the plot of some major events up to the Naruto generation, but have not figured out the stats, mini events, characterization and growth, relationships if there is any, etc.

The focus is on the **Nara family** currently, but it would not stay that way as soon more people will join in. Both canon and non-canon. I just needed more time on them as I wanted each member to have distinctive personalities other than the usual "lazy, tactics genius" that they're tacked on. I'd also like to latch on to the saying "a motivated Nara is a scary Nara", where each of them are different but still alike in these 3 ways.

 **Shikaku** in here without parenthood is more interested in his own gratification, he doesn't really understand his own feelings and neither does he understand others. He has a habit of internalizing everything and sadly has a slight superiority complex when it comes to his clan and his gender where he only trusts himself and his father with making strategies and decisions.

There are traits he picked up from his mother, where he doesn't really care about others that's not his family, his pride and extreme stubbornness. His laziness is only in things he's not interested in and when it's not beneficial to him. He does not want others to know when he's not being lazy however; and will go to great lengths to keep that lazy façade up.

He is definitely one of the main characters though, several of the main events will require his presence and influence. Several other main characters will appear as the story progresses.

 **Shikaso** in here is much more feeling and caring, half due to him being a father, another most likely from his own mother. However, as someone with his years of experience as a shinobi specializing in tactics, he can steel his heart and make the hard decisions. He's not the usual kind of lazy in a physical way, he's the lazy kind where he'll take short cuts when able. In short, he's extremely efficient, and will do no more and no less. Unless it's emotionally driven.


	7. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

"Sprint you brat! I don't care how tired you are, finish these 3 laps!"

Nao could feel her tears flowing as she forced herself to push her legs forward. She knew these laps was little for even Academy students to run daily, not even that taxing for them to sprint throughout. It doesn't change the fact that her body was not used to such activities.

Mito-shishou had been back from her vacation in Uzushiogakure for around a week now, and had just grabbed her from the orphanage to the Senju clan compound's training ground that was situated behind the main building and conveniently hidden behind tall and huge hashirama trees that conveniently blocked anyone from sneaking and peeking due to the way they interlocked that did not have enough space for a person to hide in between.

The training grounds was not huge, but sprinting a total of 6 km throughout on uneven terrain and what appeared to be a mini obstacle course made with logs and rocks and avoiding or detaching herself from spider webs was a bit too much for her 5 to be 6 (for quite a few months but she hated being this young) year old body.

The moment she hit the 6 km mark, Nao fell flat on her butt, only to be picked up again and forced straight into breathing exercises and stretches. Thanking her shishou, Nao gratefully drank the lightly salted water handed to her before following Mito who was walking towards the clan's dojo.

"Start with your yoga, then your clan's dance, then end with yoga and meditation." Nao was thankful for her handy inventory now, as the yoga mat she got during her previous birthday was far too heavy and bulky for her to carry around. Pulling it out and placing it on the floor, Nao quickly wiped it down and started with her daily routine.

After the last pose of yoga zen, Nao opened her eyes to almost shriek when she noticed Mito-shishou glaring right at her.

"You… brat." Nao gulped, for some reason she really got her pissed off. A quiet Mito was infinitely scarier than a loud one.

"I have quite a few matters to bring up with you. First, what have you been doing with your calligraphy? I have been gone for months and you have it only up to level 45! Secondly, all your other skills progress are dismal. What. Have. You. Been. Doing. With. Your. Time."

 _\- Chapter Stats * Chapter 5 – Nao * Aa -_

The sensu that landed on shishou's palms with each word seemed like a threat of impending horrible pain regardless of her response. And it seemed like Mito wasn't looking for one.

"Not to mention that everyone has told me that you are withdrawing from social interactions! That you're getting quieter and closing up! Now, explain!"

The final tap of her sensu landed right on the tatami mat in front of Nao's thighs, a sign given that she was not allowed to walk away and hide anymore.

Clenching her fists to stop it from trembling, Nao gazed at the angry eyes in front of her. She had wanted to ignore her turbulent thoughts, it seemed far easier that way. Despite knowing that such a method has never worked for her. Keeping her problems buried will cause it all to explode with far more serious consequences. The best method would be to talk it out, with her counsellor obviously. She found that she seemed to have lost the ability to think calmly though.

Knowing that there was no other way out of this, Nao sighed as she might as well take a leap of faith and trust in her shishou to care.

"It's just… a few weeks ago a pair of girls from the orphanage approached me and said… some things." Nao suddenly found the sleeves of her hakama extremely interesting, they were coming off at the ends.

"They said that everyone… was just… using me… for my strengths…" The last few words were said with a mumble as she ducked her head.

Mito sighed as she kept her sensu into her sleeves and grabbed her cup of tea. "And what are your opinions?"

Nao froze as she looked up at her. No one in this life have asked her that before. Wasn't she… a female… and too young?

"My… opinions?"

Mito sighed again as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Those idiots…" She swiftly slammed her palm on the floor and a fuuin briefly shone on the floor before all the doors of the dojo closed and a red pulse flashed once around the whole room.

"If I had no idea about your reincarnation I would have thought that they were gutless idiots for leaving you alone to your thoughts, but since I had to drill the information out from them, they aren't gutless anymore, but definitely idiots."

Suddenly the glare intensified. "And you! You did not think to inform me of the predicament you are in, nor did you tell me when your birthday is! And you talk about people using you?"

Nao could feel the tears welling up around her eyes again, the implications of Mito's words sinking in. Was she… using others too?

"What do you understand of relationships anyway? Family, couples, team, friends, comrades, acquaintances etc."

Nao slowly started to realize what Mito was getting at, and could feel the shame welling up inside her again. She was so quick to judge and anger, and terribly shallow. "It is a relationship between two people… where everyone gives something… to obtain something? If that's what you mean…"

"Explain."

"In a relationship… people give their time, effort, love, money… for the joy and happiness and probably others that they get from their joy or safety. Possibly even more. It could be an emotionally fuelled relationship, a materialistic relationship, a mutually beneficial one, or a one-sided one… depending on how you see it. Everyone is using others in a way, while getting something in return… It's the memories and joy that we obtain with each other during it that matters most… right?"

Nao gave a watery smile as she took a deep breath. This was a concept she knew and thought of in her "previous life" Everyone always had a reason when making contact initially, and most of the time it's to make use of someone. That did not mean that the other is not earnest and honest in making friends however, their intentions could change.

She was not innocent in this either, she felt betrayed but she wasn't close in the first place. She had never let them in. An indication of friendship in this culture was a sharing of birthdays and getting rid of the -san. From the start, she kept a professional relationship with everyone she met.

"Those idiots though… you're an idiot yourself! I don't care that you have extra memories from your previous life. That doesn't change the fact that you are physically 5, with a 5-year-old brain. It is normal to feel emotions, you are still finding yourself. Your forebrain is only fully formed at 16, you can't constantly force yourself to keep calm and think rationally. That does not mean you can't train yourself to, you just need time."

Nao could only nod at all these, giving a brief shock at the 16 years. She thought it would be in the early 20s, but apparently, the physiology of this world is different.

"Next, why are you not improving at the expected speed for your skills? Especially calligraphy? I do not have the time to wait for you to max it out."

Nao finally slouched, suddenly feeling tired from the current topic. She could think of a lot of reasons, but at the same time she could think of none. It all boils down to a lack of motivation. As much as she liked brush calligraphy, she far enjoyed playing with different nibs, papers, nibs holders and inks, exploring the textures and effects. The preparation of all the equipment needed, with back light and making a makeshift inclined table, along with the guidelines.

She loved the times when she went around shops to look at materials, to cut them and file them into shape, before drilling and creating the items that she designed.

All these were not possible here, all the metals were taken to creating weapons and armour, furniture here used traditional wood joint techniques, with wool as the common cushion. Ceramic and glass was used in all potteries, and there was no indication of plastics. At. All.

Nao slouched even further before gathering up enough confidence.

"I just… miss using the equipment that I usually use for calligraphy."

"And?"

"And they are not available here…" Nao twitched at the sudden sensu-induced smack on her fingers.

"Just because they are not available, so you concluded that you can't get them anymore? Didn't you have the knowledge you gain from your previous life, and I heard that you were rather ingenious and driven then. That you made things when they are not available. I know you aren't the same person back then, but make use of all that you know!"

Even more light smacks rained down on her fingers, slightly distracting her from the growing shame at her own inaction. There might not be any nibs here, but she could easily cure quills. She knew how to make the ink. She could do simple joinery to make the inclined table. If she found herself needing funds for her projects, she could sell the ideas.

She knew now what her shishou was frustrated about. Yes, she was training. But she was only training the bare minimum, going through her schedules as per normal. She did not train smart, to find out what she had mistakes on and train specifically for them, and find new ways to improve. She was just going through the motions again and again. It was no wonder why she was only improving slowly.

"So what do you need?"

A bright grin shone on her face as she looked at the prettiest quills she had ever made. It was one of the violet feathers that she found on the road (she still was a little queasy about violence towards animals, and dread the day when she was forced to kill for food) and she immediately grabbed all of them as she knew she had to have one with colours that represented the clan.

It was a fruitful week after the emotional wreck that was her training with shishou. She immediately went to sleep after showering that night, with a promise from Mito that she would get her the wood she needed. She just had to get the dimensions ready and Mito would cut it for her on the spot.

The next day she went to the matron and offered to teach everyone how to make pens from feathers, and they decided on a field trip in the afternoon where everyone gathered feathers around the village. Everyone took turns cutting the quills with a kunai under the watchful eyes of the helpers and happily dipped them in the calligraphy inks once the shaft was cleared.

Seeing some of them struggle with writing had given her an idea on how to make friends in the orphanage, and she excitedly went to the matron to offer to teach them calligraphy in small groups. It was conditionally approved though, where they need to be able to obtain enough inks and paper and lessons were given priority to the school aged orphans. Nao then decided to find out if the various ways of making inks are still applicable here, and to start teaching them. They could easily make block kinds where they can store and only use what they need.

She was also pleased that even without using a brush, she could still train her calligraphy skill with the new quill. She loved that she could now make finer lines that she couldn't before. Her skills were now improving at a much faster rate once she realized what she needed to do, despite wanting to stop giving her brain the mental workout that it probably needed.

She thanked Mito-shishou twice for the wakeup call that she needed and told her her birthday, _September 2_ _nd_ , and was told that she still had to call her shishou. She later apologized to Inorei, Shikaso and his wife, Fumiko and the Hokage for her horrible attitude the previous weeks and shared her birthday too. She didn't know what to feel about the easy acceptance.

Apologizing to Shikaku was not possible though. She was still slightly miffed at his insincere apology and grudgingly accepted that she was one who held a grudge. She tried to make up for it by teaching him how to make a quill, but he was apparently too lazy for that too, and ended up making him one in front of him and Shikaso, with her eyes twitching throughout.

Regardless, she felt like she was finally able to see what she wanted to do with her life, and probably, bit by bit, coming to terms with her memories.

The only dark spot was the abysmal rate of growth to her income. She's only able to buy a stick of dango and a cup of tea with her current amount of ryo on hand.

She knew that at the moment, her income source came wrapped in a small little grumpy boy and his slowly returning reluctance to work on his calligraphy as the guilt of his actions wore off and his attention span dwindled. She knew there was a reason her daily quest was what it was, and it didn't disappear even after they returned to their lessons.

She had hoped that the quill would peak his interest and motivate him to practise more, and it did; during the first 5 minutes. When he realized that the positioning of the hands were different from what he initially learnt, that the force and muscle groups needed were also different, and that he needed to dip the quill in the ink more often than before, he gave a frustrated sigh and placed the quill back on the wooden block placed to hold the brushes.

It was then when Nao realized that she needed to learn how to make a fountain pen or something that would act as a reservoir just so that Shikaku would find it much more convenient for use. Maybe combining the brush and the quill, since the animal hairs used are able to absorb quite an amount of ink…

"Here's all the wood you need!"

Nao gulped at the forest that she was dropped into. She thought that Mito would bring the wood, cut into more manageable sizes to her. Not bring her to the forest!

Giving into the impulse to pull her hair, she took out the papers where she did her drawing templates on.

"So.. I need this number of wooden planks, and have them cut into these sizes."

Grinning again at her adjustable table stand with a holder at the sides and a slot at the surface where she could put her templates on and light up the mini kerosene lamp underneath so that it will show up on the paper.

"First tool complete!"

 _\- Chapter Stats * Chapter 5 – Nao * Bb –_

It probably needed a coat of lacquer but it was fully functional and she could feel the excitement brimming inside her.

"I am able to do something now!"


End file.
